Free Flying Spinning Hoop Toy

ABSTRACT

A flying toy has a rim and a plurality of discontinuous airfoils that are coupled to the rim such that a plurality of openings are formed between the airfoils and the rim. Most preferably, the total area of the airfoils is less than 40% of an area enclosed by the rim and the airfoils have a weight of less than 40% of the rim.

This application claims priority to our copending provisionalapplication with the Ser. No. 60/810319 filed Jun. 1, 2006.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The field of the invention is flying toys, and especially flying rings.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION F

lying rings are well known in the art and some examples for such toysare described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,075,781; 4,560,358; 4,906,007;5,275,417; 5,522,753; 6,739,934; and published Pat. App. 2002/0111105.While these toys provide fun for games of catch, various difficultiesremain. Among other things, all or almost all of the known ring-shapedflying toys fail to provide sufficient lift to allow for a “floating”effect, which has heretofore only been achieved using a disk shape.Moreover, the trajectory of currently known ring-shaped flying toys istypically not stable, and the toys tend to tilt and crash readily,especially when wind or gusts are present. Still further, the flight ofmany known ring-shaped toys is often difficult to control and once suchtoys are flying, they often lack dynamic audio and/or visual effectsduring flight. Finally, known ring-shaped flying toys do not providealternative modes of use to throwing the ring back and forth and aretherefore often perceived as quickly diminishing in entertainment value.

Therefore, while numerous toy flying rings are known in the art, all oralmost all of them suffer from one or more disadvantages. Consequently,there is still a need to provide improved devices and methods for flyingrings, and especially for free flying ring-shaped toys.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to flying rings in which a rim and aplurality of airfoils are arranged such as to allow a stable flight overlarge distances.

In especially preferred aspects, the flying toy has a circular orpolygonal rim to which at least two discontinuous airfoils are coupledsuch that respective openings are formed between the rim and theairfoils, wherein a total area of the airfoils is less than 40% of anarea enclosed by the rim and wherein the airfoils have a weight of lessthan 40% of the rim.

Moreover, it is generally preferred that the toy comprises between twoand six airfoils, and that the rim is circular. Where desired, at leastone of the airfoils may have additional openings, and the total area ofthe airfoils is less than 30% (and more preferably less than 25%) of thearea enclosed by the rim. Additionally, suitable toys will also includea tail that is typically centrally coupled to a plurality of radiallyextending elements or centrally coupled to at least one of the airfoils.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIGS. 1A-1E depict exemplary illustrations of various contemplatedflying toys.

FIGS. 2A-2D depict exemplary illustrations of further contemplatedflying toys with a tail.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The inventor has discovered that a free flying ring toy can bemanufactured in a relatively simple and effective manner, wherein thetoy has exceptional lifting and floating characteristics, increasedstability in flight, attractive pinwheel flight patterns, dynamic audioand visual effects as well as increased play value by optionalincorporation of one or more tethers (e.g., to allow for “yo-yo like”tricks and a wide variety of throwing and catching techniques).

Most typically, contemplated flying toys comprise a generallyring-shaped or polygonal rim that is spun to impart rotational momentumand at least two discontinuous airfoils to thereby allow floating of therotating toy in the air in a free-flying manner. Preferred rims have acircular, elliptic, polygonal, or irregular-shaped cross section, butother shapes are also deemed suitable. It is further generally preferred(but no necessary) that the rim is relatively thin (i.e., less than 2 cmin height/width) as it is thought that a thin rim will reduce drag. Itis further typically preferred that the rim has a weight sufficient togenerate a significant gyroscopic force as it spins. Thus, rims arepreferably manufactured from a material comprising plastic, metal,and/or other rigid materials. With respect to the diameter, it istypically preferred that the rime has an outer diameter of between 24 to34 inches. However, larger (e.g., 34-40 inches, and even more) orsmaller diameters (e.g., 12 to 24 inches, or even smaller) are alsocontemplated herein. Where desirable, the rim can be foldable orcollapsible for easier portability. Similarly, suitable ring width(measured as outer to inner diameter distance) may vary and willtypically depend on the particular configuration of the rim. However, inmost cases the rim width will be between about 5 mm to 4 cm).

It is further especially contemplated that the rim have at least twodiscontinuous air foils coupled to the rim. The term “discontinuousairfoil” as used herein refers to an airfoil that includes at least oneopening sufficient to permit air to pass through the airfoil such thatthe rim with the airfoils will exhibit a floating flight characteristic.While in some aspects the opening is formed between the airfoil and theinner diameter of the rim (with an appearance of a gap between the rimand the airfoil), the opening may also be formed in other additional oralternative aspects by one or more openings within the airfoil (whichcould be characterized as semi-porous airfoil, or an airfoil with one ormore holes).

The discontinuous airfoils generally provide lift of the flying rim andtheir configuration provides stability of flight. Exemplary airfoilconfigurations are depicted in the attached FIGS. 1 and 2. It should benoted that the airfoils can be made of numerous materials, and amongother parameters, the particular configuration will dictate theappropriate material, which includes plastic, cloth, TYVEK™(high-density polyethylene fiber material from DuPont), or other lightweight and durable materials. It should be especially pointed out thatcontemplated airfoils are air permeable to maximize the floatingcharacteristics of the flying rim, and/or have an opening within theairfoil and/or between the foil and the rim. To that end porous clothsuch as spandex is especially preferred. Alternatively, and especiallywhere the airfoil comprises plastic or rip-stop nylon, holes can beplaced in the material to increase permeability. Among other suitablemethods, the discontinuous airfoils can be taped, glued, sewn, or otherwise directly or indirectly coupled to the ring. Such discontinuousairfoils provide superior floating characteristics as well as dramatic“pinwheel” effects when spun. An especially preferred configuration hasthe airfoils made of spandex since it can be stretched which allows theairfoils to remain taught (not to flap) when thrown through the air.

FIGS. 1A-1E exemplarily depict various embodiments of flying rings, eachhaving a rim 100A-100E, and discontinuous airfoil portions 100A-100E.Openings 112A-112E are defined between the rim and the airfoil portion,and additional openings 114A, 114C, and 114D may be present. The numberof discontinuous airfoils may vary between at least 2 and 20, but ismore preferably between 2 and 10, and most preferably between 2 and 6.FIGS. 2A-2D exemplarily depict further embodiments of flying ringshaving elements as depicted in the FIGS. 1A-1E above. Additionally, eachof the rings has a tail, which is centrally coupled to the rim eithervia radial elements 222B or 222C, or via airfoil 210A or 210D.

With respect to suitable configurations of airfoils and rim, theinventors discovered that the proportion of the entire area of the toy(i.e., the circular area enclosed by the outer diameter of the rim)relative to the area defined by the total area of the airfoils isimportant as it provides stability of flight, keeps the overall weightof the toy light. In especially preferred aspects, the total area of theairfoils is equal or less than 60%, more typically equal or less than50%, even more typically equal or less than 40%, and most typicallyequal or less than 30% of the entire area of the toy. Similarly, theweight ratio of the airfoils to the weight of the rim is ofsignificance. In most preferred aspects, the airfoil weight is equal orless than 50% of the weight of the rim, more typically, more typicallyequal or less than 40% of the weight of the rim, and most typicallyequal or less than 25% of the weight of the rim. In further preferredaspects, the ratio of the average thickness of the rim to the averagethickness of the airfoil is at least 2:1, more typically at least 5:1,and most typically at least 10:1.

Airfoils are most preferably straight-edged, however, curved-edgesairfoils are not excluded herein. Moreover, where the airfoils haveopenings, it is preferred that the ratio of airfoil openings to theentire area of the toy is between about 100:1 and 5:1, and morepreferably between 50:1 and 10:1.

For increased visual interest and play value, it is further contemplatedthat a ribbon-like tether (tail) is attached to the center of the ringby means of a radial webbing or spokes by at least one string or strapthat goes across substantially the midpoint of the rim. It is especiallypreferred that the tether should extend past the rim. This tether notonly increases the visual effect of the free flying spinning rim butalso makes a flapping or vibrating sound while flying. Still further,using the tether, the flyer can also be thrown and caught by a player.In addition, when the ring is spun and not thrown, a player can hold thetether and execute many spinning yo-yo type tricks with the spinningring. This will greatly improve the play value of the free flyingspinning ring. To this end it is generally preferred that the tether beattached by non-fixed mechanism (e.g., gimbal) by which the tether willallow the ring to spin while remaining untwisted. Suitable tethers mayhave nay lengths, however, especially preferred lengths include those ofat least the radius of the rim, more preferably at least 1.5 times theradius of the rim, and most preferably at least 2 times the radius ofthe rim.

It should be noted that the radial webbing, spokes, or straps to whichthe tether is attached should intersect at about the midpoint of the rimand can be made of string, cloth, plastic, TYVEK™, or other durablematerial. The spoke or spokes may be threaded, glued looped sewn ortaped to the rim or discontinuous air foils or be part of the airfoilsthemselves. In the case of a plurality of spokes or of especially widestraps, the flying toy can approximate a disk. It is furthercontemplated that the flying toy may also contain any variety of lightmaking devices for night time play or electronic or mechanicalsound-making devices.

Thus, specific embodiments and applications of free flying spinning hooptoys have been disclosed. It should be apparent, however, to thoseskilled in the art that many more modifications besides those alreadydescribed are possible without departing from the inventive conceptsherein. The inventive subject matter, therefore, is not to be restrictedexcept in the spirit of the present disclosure. Moreover, ininterpreting the specification and contemplated claims, all terms shouldbe interpreted in the broadest possible manner consistent with thecontext. In particular, the terms “comprises” and “comprising” should beinterpreted as referring to elements, components, or steps in anon-exclusive manner, indicating that the referenced elements,components, or steps may be present, or utilized, or combined with otherelements, components, or steps that are not expressly referenced.Furthermore, where a definition or use of a term in a reference, whichis incorporated by reference herein is inconsistent or contrary to thedefinition of that term provided herein, the definition of that termprovided herein applies and the definition of that term in the referencedoes not apply.

1. A flying toy, comprising a circular or polygonal rim to which atleast two discontinuous airfoils are coupled such that respectiveopenings are formed between the rim and the airfoils, wherein a totalarea of the airfoils is less than 40% of an area enclosed by the rim andwherein the airfoils have a weight of less than 40% of the rim.
 2. Theflying toy of claim 1 wherein the toy comprises between two and sixairfoils.
 3. The flying toy of claim 1 wherein the rim is circular. 4.The flying toy of claim 1 wherein at least one of the airfoils hasadditional openings.
 5. The flying toy of claim 1 wherein the total areaof the airfoils is less than 30% of the area enclosed by the rim.
 6. Theflying toy of claim 1 wherein the airfoils have a weight of less than25% of the rim.
 7. The flying toy of claim 1 further comprising a tail.8. The flying toy of claim 7 wherein the tail is centrally coupled to aplurality of radially extending elements.
 9. The flying toy of claim 7wherein the tail is centrally coupled to at least one of the airfoils.